Category Archives: Tool Box
1. Pronouns should follow the Nouns to which they refer, without the intervention of any other Noun.
Avoid, “John Smith, the son of Thomas Smith, who gave me this book,” unless Thomas Smith is the antecedent of “who”. Avoid also “John supplied Thomas with money: he (John) was very well off.”
When, however, one of two preceding [...]
1. Do not put statements in the negative form.
2. Remember to never split an infinitive.
3. It is incumbent on one to avoid archaisms.
4. The passive voice should never be used.
5. Proofread care-fully to see if you words out.
6. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be [...]
The writer must have eyes to see the vivid side of everything, as well as words to describe what he sees. There is a cramping restriction of an insufficient vocabulary; not merely a loose and inexact apprehension of many words that are commonly used, and a consequent difficulty in using them accurately, but also a [...]
Let clearness be the first consideration. It is best, at all events for beginners, not to aim so much at being brief, or forcible, as at being perfectly clear.
1. When using the Relative Pronoun, use “who” or “which” if the meaning is “and he” or “and it”, “for he” or “for it.” In other cases [...]
Writing clearly–so far as arrangement of words is concerned–is a mere matter of adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and auxiliary verbs, placed and repeated according to definite rules. Even obscure or illogical thought can be clearly expressed; indeed, the transparent medium of clear writing is not least beneficial when it reveals the illogical nature of the meaning [...]
Style is the manner in which one expresses himself. Styles differ as men differ. But there are some cardinal qualities that all good style must possess.
Perspicuity is opposed to obscurity of all kinds; it means clearness of expression. It demands that the thought in the sentence shall be plainly seen through the words of the [...]
Language which we never learn from a book of any kind is the language that we come by naturally, and use without thinking of it. It is a universal language, and consequently needs no interpreter. People of all lands and of all degrees of culture use it.
This Natural language is the language of cries, laughter, [...]
COMMA and SEMICOLON RULE
Independent Clauses, when short and closely connected, are separated by the comma; but, when the clauses are slightly connected, or when they are themselves divided into parts by the comma, the semi-colon is used.
A parenthetical clause may be set by the comma or by the dash, or it may be enclosed within [...]
A Simple Sentence is a sentence that contains but one subject and one predicate, either or both of which may be compound.
We have considered the sentence with respect to the words and phrases composing it. Let us now look at it as a whole.
“The mountains lift up their heads.”
This sentence is used simply to affirm, [...]
NOUNS - The name of anything.
Words are grouped according to their similarities in use, or office, in the sentence. We find that they all fall into eight classes, which we call Parts of Speech.
We find that many words name things–are the names of things of which we can think and speak. These we place in [...]
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